1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lens select device and a portable information terminal. More particularly, the invention relates to a lens select device and a portable information terminal which enable a telescopic image, such as an iris image, and a wide angle image, such as a scenery image and a face image, to both be picked up by lens selection.
2. Description of the Related Art
Prevalence of portable information terminals, such portable telephone sets and PDAs (personal digital assistants) is remarkable. For example, a credit card function and a money card function are incorporated into the portable telephone set. A user accesses a shopping site on the internet and makes purchases at the shopping site. In this case, a problem that arises is the theft of the portable telephone set by another person. In one of the ways to prevent the theft by another person, an individual authentication function is incorporated into the portable telephone set. Only when the individual is authenticated, use of the portable telephone set is permitted or the shopping is permitted.
In prior techniques as disclosed in JP-A-2001-92786 and JP-A-2000-307715, a function to authenticate an individual with the iris or fingerprint is incorporated into the portable telephone set. The portable telephone verifies whether or not a current possessor of the portable telephone set is authorized, and prohibits other possessors than the authorized one from using the portable telephone set.
A method of authenticating a person with his iris will find a use in many different environments since an electronic camera is mounted on a portable telephone set and an iris of the user is merely picked up. An iris pick-up camera must be a telescopic camera of a narrow field angle since it picks up an iris pattern. The iris image is best clear in the near infrared wavelength region. Accordingly, it is necessary to attach a visible light cut filter to the lens.
The portable telephone set that is used as a television telephone or is capable of picking up a scenery image and sending it to a called party become wodely used. The wide angle camera is wider in field angle than the telescopic camera, and when an infrared light cut filter which permits visible light to pass therethrough but inhibits infrared light from passing therethrough, is attached to the lens, a clearer image can be picked up.
The telescopic camera for picking up the iris image is incompatible with the wide angle camera for picking up the scenery image in many points. Accordingly, it is difficult to house the two cameras into the housing of the small portable telephone set, and the cost to manufacture increases. To cope with this, the following measure may be taken. The image pick-up device, such CCD, is commonly used for both the cameras. Two lenses, a wide angle lens and a telescopic lens, are provided for the lens disposed in front of the image pick-up device. Either of those lenses is selected by a lens select device. In this case, it is desired that the lens select device may be installed in a narrow space, and the lens select operation is easy and reliable.